The pharmaceutical industry continues to be a hotbed of patent innovation. Activity is driven by the evolution of treatment paradigms, and the gravity of unmet needs, as well as the growing importance of technologies such as pharmacogenomics, digital therapeutics, and artificial intelligence. In the last three years alone, there have been over 136,000 patents filed and granted in the pharmaceutical industry, according to GlobalData’s report on Cell & gene therapy in pharma: cancer CAR-T receptorsBuy the report here.

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According to GlobalData’s Technology Foresights, which uses over 730,000 patents to analyze innovation intensity for the pharmaceutical industry, there are 80+ innovation areas that will shape the future of the industry.

Cancer CAR-T receptors is a key innovation area in cell & gene therapy

Chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy is an innovative and promising immunotherapy approach for the treatment of certain types of cancer. CAR-T cells are engineered immune cells designed to target and destroy cancer cells effectively. The key component of CAR-T cells is the chimeric antigen receptor (CAR), which serves as a synthetic receptor that redirects T cells to recognize and attack cancer cells. CARs are composed of several critical elements, including an extracellular antigen-binding domain, a transmembrane domain, and intracellular signaling domains. The extracellular domain contains the receptor that recognizes specific antigens on cancer cells.

GlobalData’s analysis also uncovers the companies at the forefront of each innovation area and assesses the potential reach and impact of their patenting activity across different applications and geographies. According to GlobalData, there are 950+ companies, spanning technology vendors, established pharmaceutical companies, and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of cancer CAR-T receptors.

Key players in cancer CAR-T receptors – a disruptive innovation in the pharmaceutical industry

‘Application diversity’ measures the number of applications identified for each patent. It broadly splits companies into either ‘niche’ or ‘diversified’ innovators.   

‘Geographic reach’ refers to the number of countries each patent is registered in. It reflects the breadth of geographic application intended, ranging from ‘global’ to ‘local’.  

Patent volumes related to cancer CAR-T receptors

Company Total patents (2021 - 2023) Premium intelligence on the world's largest companies
Immatics 2875 Unlock Company Profile
Bristol-Myers Squibb 1172 Unlock Company Profile
Memorialoan Kettering Cancer Center 653 Unlock Company Profile
Cellectis 626 Unlock Company Profile
Iovance Biotherapeutics 527 Unlock Company Profile
Gilead Sciences 510 Unlock Company Profile
Seattle Children's Hospital 489 Unlock Company Profile
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center 487 Unlock Company Profile
Autolus 460 Unlock Company Profile
NantWorks 393 Unlock Company Profile
US Department of Health and Human Services 383 Unlock Company Profile
NEW HOPE, CITY OF 322 Unlock Company Profile
Novartis 292 Unlock Company Profile
Genscript Biotech 286 Unlock Company Profile
Miltenyi Biotec 284 Unlock Company Profile
bluebird bio 267 Unlock Company Profile
CRISPR Therapeutics 240 Unlock Company Profile
Adaptimmune Therapeutics 220 Unlock Company Profile
Eureka Therapeutics 219 Unlock Company Profile
Allogene Therapeutics 206 Unlock Company Profile
Pfizer 198 Unlock Company Profile
BioNTech 197 Unlock Company Profile
Precision Biosciences 190 Unlock Company Profile
PT Soho Global Health 172 Unlock Company Profile
City of Hope 170 Unlock Company Profile
Takeda Pharmaceutical 162 Unlock Company Profile
Fate Therapeutics 155 Unlock Company Profile
Massachusetts General Hospital 148 Unlock Company Profile
CARsgen Therapeutics 145 Unlock Company Profile
2Seventy Bio 141 Unlock Company Profile
Instil Bio 133 Unlock Company Profile
Johnson & Johnson 132 Unlock Company Profile
Poseida Therapeutics 131 Unlock Company Profile
Immunocore 130 Unlock Company Profile
Sangamo Therapeutics 125 Unlock Company Profile
Innovative Cellular Therapeutics 121 Unlock Company Profile
TCR2 Therapeutics 120 Unlock Company Profile
F. Hoffmann-La Roche 119 Unlock Company Profile
MediGene 105 Unlock Company Profile
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals 102 Unlock Company Profile
Editas Medicine 102 Unlock Company Profile
Celularity 97 Unlock Company Profile
GC 94 Unlock Company Profile
Immunovative Therapies 93 Unlock Company Profile
Nkarta 92 Unlock Company Profile
Amgen 89 Unlock Company Profile
CBMG 89 Unlock Company Profile
Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres 87 Unlock Company Profile
Intima Bioscience 87 Unlock Company Profile
Gracell Biotechnologies 86 Unlock Company Profile

Source: GlobalData Patent Analytics

Immatics is one of the leading patent filers in cancer CAR-T receptors. Immatics is a biopharmaceutical company that has been involved in the development of CAR-T cell therapies targeting specific cancer antigens. Immatics' CAR-T therapies are based on T-cell receptors (TCRs), which are different from traditional CARs. The company has a pipeline of TCR-based therapies in development. In 2022, Immatics and Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) expanded their strategic alliance to pursue the development of multiple allogeneic off-the-shelf TCR-T and/or CAR-T programs. Bristol-Myers Squibb and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center are some of the other key patent filers in cancer CAR-T receptors.

In terms of application diversity, Celularity leads the pack, while Iovance Biotherapeutics and Intima Bioscience stood in the second and third positions, respectively.

By means of geographic reach, Immunovative Therapies held the top position, followed by Immatics and Novartis.

To further understand the key themes and technologies disrupting the pharmaceutical industry, access GlobalData’s latest thematic research report on Pharmaceutical.

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GlobalData, the leading provider of industry intelligence, provided the underlying data, research, and analysis used to produce this article.

GlobalData’s Patent Analytics tracks patent filings and grants from official offices around the world. Textual analysis and official patent classifications are used to group patents into key thematic areas and link them to specific companies across the world’s largest industries.